WWE 2K18 Roster REVIEW: Omissions, Departures, Newcomers, and Speculation

The full roster for the next WWE game has been revealed and it’s looking like this might be the most complete version they’ve ever put out. Past games would have notable fringe stars missing or sometimes half of the tag team division, but this year looks much, much better. All the distinct WWE rosters are well represented in this lineup, with the men’s, women’s, and tag teams on Raw, Smackdown, and NXT all covered in the majority. The Raw and 205 Live Cruiserweights are also well represented with almost two-thirds of their number included as well.

You could argue that the game is worth a purchase simply based on roster alone since superstars move in and out of WWE yearly – there is a chance to never have this ridiculous amount of talent officially in one game again.

With that in mind, let’s look at the real WWE rosters, the corresponding video game rosters from this year and last year, as well as having a little speculation for DLC to see how comprehensive this roster is and could be.

Some miscellaneous points of interest to begin. Surprisingly and pleasantly, the main rosters are largely intact despite their combined size. Some omissions from 2K17 to note: Austin Aries, Alberto Del Rio, The Dudley Boys, Jack Swagger, Simon Gotch and Stardust are no longer under the WWE banner and therefore couldn’t be expected to make the cut this year. Another interesting note, the women’s rosters for both Raw and Smackdown appear to be comprehensive without reservation. Even Paige and The Bellas made the cut, despite their recent absences.

Omissions from wrestlers currently listed on the Raw roster are Elias and The Hardy Boys. Both are disappointing however, The Hardy’s surprise return at Wrestlemania must have meant they missed the 2K18 main roster cut by mere weeks. Elias is a different story, having been in NXT beforehand and then promoted to Raw following Wrestlemania; it’s an indication that he was not high on the WWE internal radar before making his debut. Since then, he’s proven an interesting character and worthy of inclusion, which makes this miss more notable than it might have been.

Over on the Smackdown side of things, the omissions are actually mostly understandable. James Ellsworth isn’t listed, however, he is a unique situation in the WWE eco-system. While his inclusion would have been an excellent way to set a bottom line for stats among the wrestlers the only thing diminished here is the potential lack of his entrance music in the game. If that is included anyway, there’s not much else his inclusion could accomplish. Mike & Maria Kanellis are recent roster additions so that’s also understandable, but with the way they have almost immediately disappeared from television after debuting, they might not have made the cut anyway. Another case of great entrance music potentially lost though. Finally, Samir and Sunil, The Singh Brothers. Added to Jinder Mahal at Backlash, this cruiserweight tag team is currently more like managers or J & J Security types rather than actual members of the roster. The only thing noticeable here is that they are an element of the current WWE Champion’s presentation, so Jinder might look somewhat lonely without them. Shelton Benjamin isn’t on the 2K18 roster, however since his return is literally less than two weeks old at this point, it’s completely clear why. Smackdown actually has two very notable additions who didn’t appear in last year’s game, that being former NXT Champion Bobby Roode and WWE Champion Jinder Mahal.

Over on 205 Live, we find the roster that is almost entirely brand new to the WWE games and so finds itself less than complete, although with some interesting quirks of its own. Enzo Amore’s recent move to the division technically adds another member who only recently arrived, so WWE has kept a change in roster up to date, albeit accidentally. All current or former cruiserweight champions are present and accounted for, making Austin Aries failure to capture the Cruiserweight title before leaving a significant point. Missing from the announced rosters, however, are current stars Ariya Daivari, Lince Dorado, Drew Gulak, Mustafa Ali, and Tony Nese. These aren’t casual omissions either because the majority of them have appeared on 205 Live and other WWE programs since the Cruiserweight Classic and all of them appear regularly on both 205 Live and Raw. Drew Gulak is a particular oddity as he has been having consistent storylines since 205 Live began, whereas Gran Metalik has only resurfaced recently and somehow made the cut.

Moving on to NXT, and with the fluctuations that come with being a developmental division and having roster turnover for various reasons, this is where the 2K18 lineup suffers more than the rest. The first point to make: the omissions of Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy who appeared in 2K17. Not a promising sign for the pair who have largely disappeared completely from NXT despite having been former NXT tag team champions. Unless it turns out that they are the team behind the Fashion Police’s case on Smackdown, which is a dark-horse prediction you heard here first.

Other NXT roster members omitted include Aleister Black, Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas, Drew McIntyre, Liv Morgan, Oney Lorcan, Heavy Machinery (Tucker Knight & Otis Bozovic), Ruby Riot, and The Velveteen Dream. Of those, Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas surprises the most, having debuted at the Takeover before Bobby Roode did and yet he still misses the cut. The others noted here either had their gimmick changed or (re)debuted too late to make the cut and despite being a former inclusion and the current NXT Champion; Drew McIntyre is out for those reasons and that’s a shame. Liv Morgan has been in and out of focus on NXT and presumably not featured enough to warrant a spot yet either. Albert also wasn’t included in the roster reveals, although the real life Matt Bloom is now the head trainer at the WWE Performance Center where NXT superstars are produced so he could make an appearance in a career mode. Lastly, Adam Cole, Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly are also far too recent for inclusion in the main game roster and Cole and O’Reilly aren’t even on the WWE.com NXT roster yet.

Some Legacy or Legends wrestlers who got dropped include The New Age Outlaws, Arn Anderson, Brian Pillman and Papa Shango. Papa Shango is essentially in as The Godfather, anyway. The rest of the Legends roster is massive and could be a game unto itself, so their continued inclusion is a bonus now that the main rosters are being properly represented. Moreso, now that it appears they will be included in the base game rather than as DLC (RVD & Batista aside, being in deluxe versions).

Appearances by managers were ostensibly not yet released so additions like Mr. McMahon, Paul Heyman, Bobby Heenan, and Ted Dibiase are still possible without being included on the roster reveals. They made it into the game last year, so time will tell if they made the cut in some form this time.

There are also reports of many alternate costumes for several wrestlers. These would vary between being entirely separate wrestler slots and simple attire changes. Fully distinct characters Cactus Jack, Dude Love, Mankind, Corporate Kane, Demon Finn Balor, Diesel, and Razor Ramon appear to be included. Attires and different era versions of Big Bossman, Big Show, Bret Hart, DDP, Chris Jericho, Michael ‘PS’ Hayes, Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, HHH, and Undertaker cover even more ground.

That covers the main discussion points of what we know, so let’s move on to what we might be able to expect from the DLC. We’ll be assuming 5 slots in each, as has been the case in Superstar focused DLC packs in recent years.

Notable by their lack of mention in any form are the wrestlers from this year’s United Kingdom Championship tournament. Among them, the semi-finalists and pre-tournament favourite could be expected to make up a DLC pack all on their own. That would give us Trent Severn, Mark Andrews, Wolfgang, the inaugural UK champion Tyler Bate, and the reigning champion Pete Dunne. With their stellar showing in the tournament and subsequent network specials, this lineup would be excellent for a themed DLC pack. If that were the case, I’d guess Ruby Riot and Oney Lorcan, or Heavy Machinery could get the nod.

Another pack is surely likely to be headlined by Matt & Jeff Hardy, the brothers alone worthy of purchase. However, let’s fill out the other presumed three slots. Elias might have worked his way into calculations, NXT Champion Drew McIntyre would make logical sense as well. The final slot could go to either Aleister Black or Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas, unless those two and Drew are scheduled for their own NXT DLC pack.

That covers about everything as we know for now. The addition of an entirely new roster of superstars in the cruiserweights and notable additions and returns like Bobby Roode and Jinder Mahal cover almost every base you’d want covered for this year. The lineup is massive and a compelling argument for purchase all on its own because for one of the first times we’re not really able to bemoan obvious gaps in the roster, just appreciate the incredible coverage WWE has achieved in talent that is available in the base game.

WWE 2K18 is coming soon to Xbox One and PS4.